What is Milei looking for on his first trip as president-elect of Argentina to the United States?

LOOK: Milei will not meet with Biden at the White House, but with his Foreign Advisor

Since his surprise victory in the August primary elections, Milei had announced that in his eventual presidency the United States and Israel would be his priority allies.

This week’s trip seems to confirm these words, but what would the president-elect seek to obtain on this trip to the United States?

– Presentation letter –

For Argentine political scientist Santiago Rodríguez Rey, Milei’s trip would be intended to introduce himself and show the economic wing of the team that will accompany him at least during the first part of his mandate. For this reason, the libertarian is accompanied by his potential Minister of Economy, Luis Caputo, and chief of staff, Nicolás Posse.

“It is also a signal to the markets that have been responding positively. Today Argentine stocks are having a rebound and good numbers in international markets. In addition, it would also seek to demonstrate a closeness to the United States in general, a symbol“says Rodríguez Rey to Trade.

In that sense, the Argentine political analyst based in the United States Hernán Molina assures that in the North American country “more than an opinion, there is a lack of certainty about who this man is”, in reference to Milei.

“The tone he used, the things he said and how he behaved in the campaign led many people to only take him as a media personality. But now that he won and is using a different tone, there are people waiting to see what will happen when he takes office. There is expectation about his administration”, he assures.

“The idea seems to be to take the character and have him have face-to-face interviews with certain people to appease or deepen that image.“, complements Rodríguez Rey.

The urgency of the trip and the changes – it was expected to take place last week but was postponed – have prevented Milei from being able to agree to meetings with the most important political figures in the United States; However, the libertarian will have the opportunity to meet with officials such as the director of the National Security Council for the Western Hemisphere, Juan González; officials from the White House, the Treasury Secretariat and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

It is no small matter that Milei has repeatedly expressed his admiration for former Republican President Donald Trump. However, this has not been an impediment to maintaining a good line of communication with the Biden Administration.

The American president called Milei to congratulate him on his victory and invite him to work together. Alberto Fernández’s successor invited the Democratic president to his inauguration, although this will not occur for scheduling reasons, they explained from Washington.

“The United States is going to support Milei because he wants to maintain closer relations with Washington. Maybe not specifically with Joe Biden, but he is the current American president, so I estimate there will be a very professional relationship. Perhaps not as close as the one that existed in Menem’s time, but professional”says Molina.

– Economic interest –

The trip of the elected ruler also comes after a hectic week full of rumors about the members of his ministerial cabinet. For Rodríguez Rey, however, the only peculiarity of this situation is that this time it has reached the ears of public opinion.

“More than problems, I would say that there was a definition of an open-air cabinet. There is more ado than nothing in the sense of names, in any cabinet organization that happens. The different thing is that it is more public, but the dance of names is normal”, he points out.

With annual inflation of 140%, 40% of the population on the poverty line and an imminent recession by the end of the year, the economic aspect is, without a doubt, one of the great challenges that Milei will face since the presidency takes over. December 10.

Added to this is also the debt of 44 billion dollars that the country maintains with the IMF. Last Friday, the president-elect held a virtual conversation with the general director of said supranational organization, Kristalina Georgieva, to talk about it.

It has been theorized in recent days that Milei’s visit to the United States would also have among its purposes to gain the favor of Washington to support an eventual renegotiation of the debt with said organization.

In this regard, Molina considers that the libertarian would have the IMF’s willingness for an eventual negotiation of deadlines. “The IMF has been quite tolerant towards Argentina. He supported the negotiations of Sergio Massa and Martín Guzmán before that. He is not going to leave Argentina alone, it is not in his best interest for it to fall. It is convenient for the United States to have Argentina as an ally and not as distant as it was first with Kirchnerism or to a lesser extent with Alberto Fernández. The fact that Milei also has proposals that are more in line with the IMF’s plans, such as reducing the deficit, increasing taxes or reducing public spending, makes me think that he will receive the support of the IMF.”, he points out.

Rodríguez Rey, for his part, comments that although the eventual Minister of Economy, Luis Caputo, “includes something about debt renegotiation in your presentations”, any kind of real impact on the topic would have occurred during the interview between Milei and Georgieva.